Lillian Eby, a professor of psychology and director of the University of Georgia Owens Institute for Behavioral Research, has been named UGA’s 2020 recipient of the Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award.
Eby, a professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, is recognized both nationally and internationally for her impact on the field of industrial-organizational psychology, with particular emphases on the mentor-mentee relationship in business and employee health and well-being. She is author of more than 100 peer reviewed journal publications, nearly 30 book chapters, and is the co-author, editor or co-editor of several influential books, including the co-authored “Oxford Handbook of Work and Family.”
“In addition to making a lasting impact on the academic research surrounding mentorship and employee well-being, Dr. Eby is committed to applying her expertise to real-world challenges in businesses and nonprofits,” said S. Jack Hu, the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “She exemplifies the role that faculty members at major research universities play in making a positive impact on society.”
Eby has garnered a high level of extramural support for her research, which has been funded by more than $12 million from agencies such as the National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Science Foundation, as well as various industry sponsors. A recent analysis of scholarly impact outside the academy documented that she is among the top 1% most influential authors in organizational behavior, human resource management and general management textbooks. According to Google Scholar, her work has been cited more than 23,000 times.
She has delivered more than 200 conference presentations, and her research-based insights are highly sought after in the corporate and nonprofit world, as well. She has published more than two dozen technical reports for industry leaders such ING, BellSouth and the American Cancer Society.
Eby is one of the world’s leading experts on mentoring relationships. She conducted ground-breaking research on the potentially negative aspects of mentoring, which challenged mentoring scholars to consider the potential downsides of mentor-protégé interactions and expanded research on mentoring into entirely new directions. Her contributions to mentoring scholarship have led to several keynote addresses at international conferences and universities, as well as two invited presentations for the National Academes of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on mentoring in STEM.
She also is the leading expert on the substance abuse treatment workforce and, in particular, the occupational health of employees. By translating her empirical research on substance abuse treatment counselor burnout, turnover and quality of work-life into actionable recommendations for managers and policymakers, she has been able to successfully bridge the science-practice gap and increase awareness of how organizational culture and management practices impact not only employees, but also patients seeking treatment for drug abuse.
Eby has been recognized with UGA’s Creative Research Medal and Creative Research Award, and her external honors include being named a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. She was recently named the first woman editor-in-chief of one of the premier professional journals in her field, the Journal of Applied Psychology.
